Sacred Spirit Yoga and Wellness

About Us

Experience

Laurie Zanelli is the director of Sacred Spirit Yoga & Wellness, and has been enjoying the healing practice of yoga for the past 16 plus years. Laurie is a Licensed Massage Therapist, and has studied Thai Yoga Massage with Paul Weitz. She is a Physical Fitness Specialist and Nutritional Counselor, certified through Cooper Institute out of Dallas Texas. Laurie is a Usui and Sa Sekhem Sahu Reiki Master and Teacher; she incorporates a unique healing energy into her yoga classes. Laurie is certified in Aromatherapy, Hypnosis and Iridology, and is currently working on her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine.

Education

Laurie has completed her teacher training with Shiva Rea and has studied with many teachers from the states and India including, Seane Corn, Anna Forrest, Andrey Lappa, Kim Schwartz, Tias Little, and Gabriel Halpern, of the Yoga Circle Chicago. Laurie continues to study and educate herself; she does regular conferences through Yoga Journal, Omega Institute and Moksha Yoga in Chicago. This past October 2008 Laurie completed her 300 hour Teacher Training Course through Moksha Yoga. Laurie is a certified Yoga instructor.

Current Practices

In each class, Laurie blends her training and sixteen-plus years of experience into a creative, challenging, and soulful vinyasa flow class. She takes her students on a journey through every part of the body, exploring the workings of their minds and their connection to spirit. She inspires her students to become self-aware, mentally, physically, emotionally, energetically, and spiritually. Laurie seeks wisdom through action, so she constantly reinforces the principals of alignment and offers variations in each pose so students of all levels can feel safe and get what they need from their practice. Laurie encourages her students to go with-in, to recognize the inner being, love, honor and accept the place where they are that day, and to realize that every day (just like life) their practice will change! She has them work through the challenges to do the best they can to find grace and balance in the present moment.